Eight floor-length gowns in an Art Nouveau language, photographed one by one in eight different corners of a Chinese garden.
Two silhouettes alternate. The S-curve gown lifts the waistline high and lets the hip line fall away in one soft arc, draws in again into a fish-tail above the knee and opens once more at the calf; a ring of sculpted tulle curls over the shoulders in whiplash loops like vine tendrils. The curve-back gown answers it with an unbroken wavy line instead of a waistline: the back is cut open from shoulder blade to the small of the back in a single scrolling curve, the front is cut on the bias so the silk slides down in long diagonal folds, and the hem sweeps a little lower on one side than the other.
All eight are cut from one silk satin, dyed in a single hue and shaded continuously from the palest tone at the shoulder down to a deeper tone at the hem, so the colour never breaks into two. The gold vine work is drawn as whiplash curves that run from shoulder to hem, each bud coiled out of a few gold stitches. Across the bodice the vines are packed tighter, with a small gold bead set into the heart of every bud and a hairline gold line finishing the collar; the tulle at the shoulders carries a fine gold line along each arc with tiny gold points scattered across the gauze.
The palette runs through eight families: jade green, rose pink, lilac, lapis blue, apricot-peach, bamboo green, and a second jade, with one gown in pale celadon.
On the legs, ultra-sheer ivory tights drawn continuously from waist to toe as one single piece. Shoes are strappy stiletto sandals in a shade one step deeper than the gown — jade, rose, lilac, blue, peach, bamboo, and celadon. Hair changes image by image: a low chignon with strands falling at the cheek, a high bun closed with a short jade comb, double spiral buns with a small gold clasp, a side bun with the rest of the hair sweeping over one shoulder, a soft braid coiled at the back, and long hair worn loose under a wide satin bow. Jewellery is matched to each colour: pearl strands, jade bracelets, rose quartz beads, amethyst, aquamarine, tourmaline, carnelian and jadeite.
The eight settings are: a round moon gate set in a chalk-white wall beside a taihu stone; a covered corridor with vermilion columns and a carved rail; a stone bench at the edge of a lotus pond; an arched stone bridge with stone drums and tiled eaves beyond; a bamboo grove with fresh shoots at its foot; a round lattice window with a celadon planter of sweet flag; a garden terrace with a lotus jar; and a water pavilion with a curved back-rest above the pond.
Every image is created entirely by AI.
